By Patrick ONOJA investadvocate

Jan 11 2011 01.39 GMT

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Intercontinental Bank Plc (IB Plc) has said it is likely to conclude it recapitalisation exercise by June 2011 as the Bank has received a N146 billion Bonds from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

 

This was contained in a Statement by the Bank Monday January 10 2011 and made available to investadvocate in Lagos Nigeria.

 

Mahmoud Lai Alabi, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO) of the Bank in the Statement affirmed that its recapitalisation programme is progressing successfully and it is expected to be concluded by the middle of the year.

 

“Intercontinental Bank is presently an International Bank with reasonable presence in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ghana and regardless of the outcome of the of the ongoing recapitalisation process, would remain an international Bank” he said.

 

According to the Statement, the Bank affirmed it has received a big boost with the receipt of the N146 billion in AMCON Bonds in the first phase of the Assets Management Corporation’s intervention.

 

Intercontinental Bank said it expects additional bonds from AMCON in the subsequent phases.

 

In the review period, the Bank recorded a core deposit position of N617billion in the Financial Year Ended (FYE) December 31 2010 which indicates a growth of N113 billion or 23 percent (23%).

 

Alabi also affirmed the Bank recorded a significant improvement in liquidity ratio which currently stands at 27.5%. “These huge successes were achieved by the faithful implementation of the transformation project earlier embarked upon by the Bank” the GMD/CEO said. 

 

“The strategy is having a major positive impact on the fortunes of the Bank” he said.

 

In the same vein, IB Plc through one of its financial products gave out scholarships to 20 students as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

According to the Bank, the product   has churned out over 500 scholarship beneficiaries since its   inception in 1992.

 

“The State Scholarship Scheme, in which over   1,300 students from about 15 States of the Federation have benefited,   the Bank said, it was another avenue to which it has touched the lives   of several Nigerian students” the Statement said.

 

Intercontinental Bank further affirmed that the product requires a minimum deposit of N250, 000 for a minimum tenor of 90 days “The   beneficiaries of the scholarship are children or wards, nominated by the IDF customers and are entitled to N100, 000 per annum” it said.

 

Intercontinental Bank was one of the first five Banks whose CEOs and Executive Directors (EDs) where sacked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) August 14 2009.

 

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Governor of the CBN had told Journalists that the removal of the Bank big wigs was due to excessively high level of non-performing loans, which was attributable to poor corporate governance practices, bad credit administration processes and the banks’ credit risk management practices.